035PREVIEW
A lot has happened in the 28
years since Ed Boon first decided
multicoloured ninja pulling
one another’s spines through
their throats would be a good
thing. While this classic fighter
continues to display its violent side, there’s more
s 11th outing than glossy gore.In our first hands-on, as Sub-Zero going toe-to-
sharpened-forearm with a returning Baraka, we
freeze our opponent and perform the classic upper,
send a flurry of iced shards into our rival’s body like
a card-shark dealing a hand, and break Baraka’s jaw
in a graphic X-ray close-up.
This last move is one of Mortal Kombat 11’s new
Fatal Blows. These mini-Fatalities can be activated if
your health drops below 30 per cent, enabling you to
stay in the fight and adding an edginess to the final
stages of a round. The fact these gruesome moves
are knife-sharp stabs of cinematic ultra-violence
happening during fights only serves to double down
on everything the series is famous for, and we love
it. Even our opponent can’t help smiling as his
Baraka is skewered. Again.KRUSHING BLOW
Such creative assaults on our stomachs can happen
randomly, as some moves trigger snapshot cinematic
moments of flesh-peeling nastiness. New characterMORTAL
KOMBAT 11
More than a bare-bones brawler,
the klassic series has grown up
FORMAT PS4 / ETA 23 APR / PUB WARNER BROS INTERACTIVE
ENTERTAINMENT / DEV NETHERREALM STUDIOS“CINEMATIC
MOMENTS OF
FLESH-PEELING
NASTINESS.”